One path for local schoolteacher

LINGLE – As the Women’s History Month, a March spotlight falls on long-time educator.
Becky Nighswonger teaches first grade at Lingle-Ft. Laramie Elementary. She’s set to retire at the end of the school year with big plans to travel and enjoy time with family.
But, she said, leaving the classroom will be bittersweet.
Nighswonger, who grew up as child number two out of five, said she always knew she wanted to become a teacher.
“I always had younger siblings that, I could play school with. So I think that, initially I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, I always knew I wanted to be a mom because of all that,” Nighswonger said.
While studying at Eastern Wyoming College, Nighswonger got married and started a family. She later started a preschool in Morrill, Neb., setting her focus on her family for the next few years.

After moving to Torrington, Nighswonger became the first teacher at the Lutheran Church preschool.
“And then one day I read in the newspaper that Chadron was bringing classes to WNCC (Western Nebraska Community College) and EWC and that I would possibly be able to get the rest of my degree through Chadron (State College). So when my kids were about seven and five and under two I decided to go back to college and pursue my degree,” Nighswonger said. “Fortunately, I had grandmas and a husband and all of that, that could support that because I was doing night classes.”
Nighswonger said she spent the next three summers living in Chadron with her two youngest.
“That was a journey. It was a journey being away, but it was worth it,” Nighswonger said.
She finished her degree in December 1992. Nighswonger started at L-FL in the fall of 1993, where she has been for the entirety of her career.
“I’ve loved it here, I’ve loved the community here, I’ve loved the small school. I love when I go to high school events, or graduations, and I count to see how many of those kids I had as first graders because I’ve watched them from the time they were kindergarteners,” Nighswonger said.
One of Nighswonger’s favorite things is watching the progression of the students she teaches through their learning and reading skills.
In Nighswonger’s classroom sits a claw-footed bathtub for the kids to sit in to read. It’s been a staple in her classroom for many years.
Nighswonger said she has had kids several years after moving on from her classroom ask if she still reads Judy B. Jones and if she still has the bathtub.
She’s thankful for the opportunities and leadership provided the school and by the Goshen County School District,
“It’s been a good journey – I’ll miss it.”
The decision to retire was not an easy one for Nighswonger to make, but she and her husband decided they would both retire this year to focus on their 10 grandchildren and spend time traveling while enjoying their time together.
When asked if she had always wanted to teach, and if she always knew she wanted to retire from it, Nighswonger’s simple response was, “Absolutely.”